Chapter 42: Surging Spirit: Girls' Resolute Pursuit 2

Rewinding...

3 Days Before (Since Ryu's Absence):

Third-Person POV- Natsume:

"Okay listen closely girls~" Mamako called out to silence the chatter of the girls. "Not only will you have to cycle your mana, but you will also need to learn how to cycle it through other people without disrupting their own. It's how you will learn to mend their wounds and cast your spells. Of course, by the time you grow proficient, you will have a proper understanding of healing and will also have spells that will not require contact!" Mamako finished cheerfully.

The three devil girls were also sitting in on the training to watch the progress of Kaori. Natsume wasn't sure why she was here, as her powers didn't revolve around healing, but they did tell her it would help regardless, so she agreed. Only Yurika and Kaori were in the healing category, but her agreement mostly stemmed from how Mamako looked pitiful after Ayaka denied her invitation. Though initially skeptical, Mamako reassured her it was for her good and that it would help her with mana control. She figured it couldn't hurt to try, especially if it involved magic training like Ayaka. She was the only other one who took to magic like a fish in water. The other was the game fanatic Saki. 

Once they have progressed far enough, they would split up. Kaori would be training with Miyu, Yurika with Mamako, Sona, Tsubaki, and Rias with Serafall, and finally Natsume herself with Grayfia. In all honesty, Grayfia did scare her a bit, but she had already talked to her a few times and she was pleasantly surprised how kind she was. She was too embarrassed to say that out loud, however. 

"Natsume-chan, make sure you go ahead and begin cycling, I know you unconsciously did it before, but now you must get a feel for it manually~" Mamako called out to her in a sing-song voice. 

Natsume nodded dumbly, her cheeks burning in embarrassment at being called so suddenly, but redirected her attention to the mana within her. How hard could it really be? She took a breath, closed her eyes, and dove right in. She recalled the voices of Mamako and Grayfia explaining to her to visualize her mana as a Tornado for a better visual of how to control her air affinity, it would also help out her sacred gear familiar whenever it emerged so she agreed. 

They were gathered at the training facility in the Gremory household. They found it better to do it here at the insistence of Rias. Finding nothing wrong with the suggestion they all agreed, mostly because they were all curious about the way it looked and they felt reassured that Ryu's mothers would be there with them. They were surprised at how similar it was to modern Earth, so they took it in stride after the initial scare. Natsume struggled to comprehend the teleportation at first, but she put it out of her mind and instead focused on why she was there

Deep within her meditative state, she imagined the powerful winds whipping her hair, shaking the leaves off the trees, and uprooting them as the tornado began to form. Slowly but surely she moved toward the howling winds. Instead of air, it felt far more like soft springy liquid an imitation of the wind and something that would have to do. The chatter of her friends and the adults turned to background noise, at times only hearing the roaring and yelling of Kaori as she trained to fight with her healing in a brawling style that she admired from Miyu. She wasn't sure how that would wor- A crisp clear voice cut her musings. "Focus, Natsume-sama. Your mana starts seeping out of your body if you are holding an image within yourself and that only happens if you lose focus," Grayfia's stern but soothing voice made her chastise herself. 

She took a breath and felt herself once again buffeted by the billowing wind. She then imagined herself lighter and all at once she was deep within the tornado, the wind whipping her back and forth, it took all of her concentration to stop herself from spinning together with the wind. The instructions of not controlling the wind came back to her and she focused on feeling the air and letting herself glide around and around. 

It was hard focusing on her body remaining light and preventing it from spinning out of control, but she found it soothing how the mana lightly maneuvered around her. She dove deeper within the mana and with an increase in the amount of it she began guiding it forward. Just like those tornados she saw on TV, it moved slowly, but as it progressed the devastation it wrought was on a completely different level, however. The ground she had imagined was torn up and left deep trenches in its wake. She pulled back the mana and she wobbled out of control a bit, but with a deep breath, she flew in gentle circles in the middle of it. Surprisingly this maneuver worked in her favor, she now understood that she had a far better chance at supporting the mana from the inside. 

The eye of the storm was fitting, she saw how dangerous the wind outside of it was. She understood the unpredictability of these winds, but with it came knowledge about how to redirect them to slow them down or speed them up. Refining the process and allowing it to flow freely instead of containing it. 

The tornado that took on a grey-blue hue before now began steadily lighting up in a beautiful seafoam green. Tiny sparks of energy sometimes shot out, but only dispersed upon impact. Natsume stared in wonder at the change and with it came exuberance. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree and though her flight wobbled once again at the distraction, it also provided a boost allowing her to be one with the wind. The pressure of it, the heat, the cold, the soft caresses, the need for living beings to breathe it in and expel it. The information of it flew through her and she thought she heard a soft chirp off in the distance. She felt a deep connection with it, but the second chirp allowed her to distinguish what it was. 

Awe at the fact that she was able to understand that it was her familiar calling out to her, letting her know its happiness at the connection she held with the wind. A third chirp came and this time she understood it was not ready yet. The mana within her had finally formed a proper connection and it would allow her to have it flow into her familiar. This way they would have a better way to communicate and a way for her to feed it her mana that took on the hue of the element of wind. 

As she basked in the glory of her accomplishment, she dismissed the tornado within her and eagerly opened her eyes to find Grayfai standing a bit to the right of her with a towel and a bottle of water. Natsume took a few seconds and she felt the sweat that clung to her, with flushed cheeks she took the items and greedily gulped the water as Grayfia looked on with a proud expression on her face. 

"I knew you'd be able to form a connection. Well done, Natusme-sama," She said with a small smile but her sincere tone made Natsume break out into a jubilant smile. 

"Hmph, it is only natural! I can't wait to tell Ryu! Ima throw a small ball of wind at his face when I see him so can you continue to teach me, Grayfia-san!"

Grayfia smiled and nodded. "It would be my pleasure to continue imparting my lessons to you."

Relief flooded Natsume, but she still expressed her happiness. She was sure that Grayfia would've taught her regardless, but it was nice being able to ask. It gave her the courage to reach out for help, something she needed to grow stronger. She then took a look at what was happening around her with a wistful look. 

Kaorti was practically roaring in glee at the mere thought of being able to incorporate brutal strikes with her magic. But when Miyu told her something she sagged with a forlorn look on her face, perhaps she had to do something she was annoyed at before being able to throw punches. She was a healer after all. 

Natsume turned to the other healer a bit away from Kaori and Miyu. The gently smiling Yurika was sporting a determined look as she listened in on Mamako's lecture. She then nodded and closed her eyes, her hand holding onto Mamako's arm while the other was held up over it. She was adopting a frown- determined concentration Natsume guessed- as mana began seeping out of her and a ball of light unsteadily made its way to a cut on Mamako's arm. Natsume guessed she had inflicted it on herself to have Yurika practice. She was awed by the dedication of Mamako, and when the ball of light landed it cleanly began closing but very slowly. It closed and Yurika let out a breath and her face blossomed into a smile while the flowers she had on herself also literally blossomed. 

Natsume was happy at Yurika's achievement. She wondered if talent had anything to do with it because though it took a chunk of mana, it wasn't as significant to the amount she had left. 

She took a peek at Grayfia, wondering if she was getting annoyed at her staring at the others. But she was also watching everyone's progress with a small smile on her face and when they made eye contact, Grayfia nodded and pointed to the other girls. Happy at her expression, Natsume then turned to look at the girls Grayfia pointed at. 

They were gathered around Serafall. Though she couldn't be sure she swears that they were all visibly shivering, and once she saw the icy glow emanating from Serafall she gathered that she was literally letting out ice-cold mana. The devil girls for their part only stayed silent and visibly concentrated on whatever it was they were doing. Demonic energy- at least that's what she felt it was since it was different from mana- emanated from them and she could see that they were forming a barrier, alternating between thick and thin. Serafall was lecturing them and they nodded at her words as they tried to reign in their demonic energy. 

She didn't know if she'd be able to endure the bitter cold, but perhaps it was far easier for them because of their constitution as Devils. Her unanswered question was then acknowledged by the maid standing by her. "Devils have far more durable bodies, so Serafall is teaching them how to control their demonic energy and having them defend themselves against the growing demonic ice as time goes by. It will help with their defenses and let them have proper control over their demonic energy expidenture. Now are you ready to begin magic training Natsume-sama?"

Grayfia trained her eyes on the young Natsume, she met the gaze head-on and nodded firmly. Natsume's eyes then went toward her friends once again and she saw the burning determination within their eyes and bodies. Although she was brand new to the supernatural, she knew, or perhaps subconsciously knew something was weird with the world. Now she was a part of it because of a certain boy. 

When she thought of him and the fact that he might be recovering or something had happened, she shuddered, but she bit her lip in frustration. He dares make her worry?! Well, they were all going to work hard and get stronger! They have this chance, don't they? They have this power within them so she sure as hell is going to use it. Damn the consequences. Besides, Ayaka might be on to something about magic.

This is fun.